This week at noon fellow Rotarian Bill Bronson and former Mayor Mike Winters will remind us of the history and purpose of the Montana Veterans Memorial. Join us at noon at the country club!
There will be no evening meeting this week.
Making a Difference
Owen Robinson shared the microphone at last week's noon meeting with Colleen McCarthy, field supervisor out of Helena for the United States Census Bureau. As co-chair of the community effort to get all our citizens counted in the decennial census, Owen reminded us of the importance of the census. Required by the U.S. Constitution, the census is the basis for how many seats we have in Congress and what share of federal allocations come to Montana.
"Montana loses $2,000 each year for every person who goes uncounted," Owen told us. "Between this census and the next one, that's $20,000 per person." That amount just ends up going to other states with high census counts.
Colleen gave us the nuts and bolts for being counted. For the first time ever, you can complete the census online, as well as by phone or by mail, in what is called a self-response. You will need to answer 9 questions, but none of them involve personally sensitive information such as your social security number or financial account numbers. The questions seek simple demographic information, like your age, gender, and number of people living in your home.
The presentation was especially timely because a "look-alike" mailer came to some Great Falls residents this week. Alert citizens knew something was amiss because the genuine census mailer does not require a contribution or fee to participate in the census and asks NO political questions of any kind, not even what political party you prefer.
For the real census, you should be getting a notice in the mail in March to complete the self-response. Door-to-door census-takers will not stop at addresses that have self-responded, so the self-response may be your preference. For other information on the census, contact Owen or visit census.mt.gov\2020census.gov. Let's make sure Montana gets its fair share! Stand up (or sit down and log on/dial up) and be counted!
Updates
Leap year provides an extra day this year, and Great Falls Rotary will be spending it volunteering at the Great Falls Rescue Mission Women’s Shelter. Beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29, we'll be painting the sleeping rooms as part of the women’s shelter remodel project. If we get enough volunteers, we'll also paint the doors and trim. In addition to doing the painting, Rotary will be donating the paint. Join us at 317 Second Avenue South on the 29th!
On March 12 at noon at the Celtic Cowboy, at the Boy Scouts Awards Banquet, our club will be recognized for its outstanding contributions to scouting through Camp Rotary. It should be a very special event. Talk to Dirk Smith if you'd like to attend
It's time to update our bylaws, which will not only finalize our decision on evening meetings but also smooth out any wrinkles we've encountered since the last update. Mary Moe chairs the Bylaws Committee, which also includes Bill Bronson and Mike Rausch. Mary met with the Board last week to outline a process and will convening the committee in the next month to outline areas that need to be addressed and a timeline for addressing them. The process should be completed by August.
Art Taft is still working on the coin collection fundraiser. Let him know if you have any of the following plain (no S or D) pennies: 1977, 1978, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1987. We are still 29 cents short of a full book, so, as Art says, bring some common cents to the next meeting!
Our new brochures are ready and they're beautiful! If you'd like to have some to hand out to potential new members, pick some up at the next meeting!
Spotlight on ... Club Data
ClubRunner has many interesting functions and one is the information it provides on club demographics. Five years ago, only 25% of our members were female; today 37% are. Only 17% of our current members are under 40 years of age, a demographic we'd like to expand. Over a third of our members (35%) have been members for 1-5 years, a tribute to the effectiveness of our recruitment efforts, including our evening option.
We have 106 active members now, about the same as last year, and that's just quantity. For quality we are off the charts!
Milestones
It's a birthday bonanza this week for fellow Rotarians!
Kevin Langkiet - Feb. 15
Megan Connors - Feb. 16
Brett Doney - Feb. 17
Chuck Jennings - Feb. 17
Chelle Fried - Feb. 20
Best wishes to you all for a happy and productive new year.
Weekly Wisdom for Presidents Day from One of Our Wisest
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all.”
“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.”
“If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
